


And Who Sings Backup

by Yormp



Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: A lingering fear of people, Angst, Anxiety, I accidentally projected really hard, I was pissed when I started writing, Other character that aren’t directly mentioned, Selectively Mute Link (Legend of Zelda), Trust Issues, a brief mention of blood, better safe than sorry, no beta we die like a corner animal, rated teen for my slight writing potty mouth and that brief mention of blood, that is to say scratching and hissing as we realize we brought this unto ourselves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:56:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24717904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yormp/pseuds/Yormp
Summary: Speaking is a struggle when you can’t seem to trust your traveling companions.
Relationships: Wild & Twilight (Linked Universe)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 215





	And Who Sings Backup

It’s a terrible choking feeling and a warm pressure behind his eyes. The thing that makes him scream out but at the same time, if he opens his mouth he may just sob. Hot tears running down his cheeks and a shaking chest come along shortly after, and after that comes the deep down feeling of needing to vomit. 

_ “Hey, you alright cub?” _

It’s the bad emotions, the endless quips and jabs that can’t be thrown out anymore. When his throat finally tells him  _ stop, it’s not worth it. You’ll make a fool of yourself again.  _

_ “I saw War really giving ya a hard time back there.” _

It’s when silence became his friend again. This time it wasn’t because of the pressure of some destiny forced upon him when he was little. Not because of miscommunicated feelings or a narrowly missed chance to get to know someone. No, this time it’s because he can’t keep this act up. 

_ “Yeah,” comes the breaking, crackling reply.  _

No amount of breathing deep, blinking away the pressure, or saying it’s all in good fun will stop this. It won’t stop the tightness in his chest. It won’t stop his throat from giving him away. 

Fighting the tears and forming words at the same time is just too hard. It’s too hard to explain and not break down in front of them. So he waits. 

_ It’s sniffles and muffled sobs that give him away. He really should have expected Time to find him, even if he climbed a tree to get some alone time. Maybe this is better.  _

_ “Are you going to come down or do I need to climb up there,” Time calls to him.  _

_ He climbs down, not wanting Time to try to climb his tree, and sits by the base of the tree. There’s still hiccuping sobs coming from him, but he’s trying his best to keep them in. If he doesn’t open his mouth he can’t let them out.  _

_ But Time just looks at him sadly, “what did they say?” It’s more of a demand, really.  _

_ Wild can’t force out words. He won’t risk loud snotty sobs breaking free and waking the camp. So his hands shake as he signs.  _

Avoiding topics usually works. It works quite well. Evade and distract, pretend you’re something else, don’t talk about what’s close to your chest, and keep up that happy mask. If anyone asks? You didn’t mention a thing. 

_ “Do you really remember me?”  _

_ Why are those words what makes him want to cry? Is it because he can’t? That little question is enough to make his throat close up for the first time in one hundred years. But why?  _

_ He can’t answer, so instead he smiles softly with a bit of remorse in his eyes. _

If you don’t say it they won’t know. If you don’t say those words they’ll never actually have the right answer, now will they. Speculation and guessing only gets them so far, and he’s learned well to work with that. 

_ “He’s got a slight limp.” _

_ “It’s probably nothing.” _

_ “Or maybe it’s really important and he’s hidin’ it.” _

_ “Wild wouldn’t do that, he’s not that foolish.” _

_ He’s got to be more careful, or maybe they do. He can hear them talking about him after all.  _

There’s only so much field medicine one can do on themselves before others start to notice. The others seem to have taken note, but no one will say anything. 

_ Shaking shoulders and bile rising in his throat tells him this is going to be bad. It won’t be fun. That he won’t be able to look him in the eye. He got cocky, a lucky hit knocked him on his ass and he’s surrounded now.  _

_ The monster knocked him down, blood trickling down his right arm. It isn’t so bad, really.  _

_ There’s a brief opening. He sees it. He runs.  _

_ “Wild! Wait!” _

Sometimes he’ll get hurt and suddenly he’s a startled animal running off of fight or flight. It’s the days he can’t look into his mentors eyes or when his closest friend can’t even make him speak. 

It’s harder for some than others, of course. Trust is not equal. 

_ “You get that it was just a joke, right?”  _

They say a dog is the best judge of character, he would much rather listen to a dog than his traveling companions. It seems harsh, but trust is fragile. Dogs understand trust. 

_ There’s a low growl coming from his right. It’s been him and the wolf for weeks, until now. Just them in the snow covered mountains until they reached a stable. Now there was a warm fire and fresh hot meals to be cooked.  _

_ And strangers. Perhaps that’s why the wolf is growling. One stranger comes up closer and the wolf barks and snaps at them just before they draw their sword to attack him.  _

Thank Hylia for dogs. They don’t require your voice. They don’t need to hear your voice to know your heart. Maybe that’s why it shocked him a bit.

_ The wolf wasn’t a wolf. His only companion turned out to be a man clad in green with a pelt over his shoulders and a funny accent.  _

_ At least he’s going to be with him on this next adventure.  _

But it will always come back to the worst parts of it in the end. His throat will close up a bit, he’ll be afraid of waking the others with sobs, they’ll suddenly look like big scary monsters when he’s wounded, and he’ll only ever really trust the wolf. 

Sure, it’s just a bit easier to handle Time, but he’s a bit harsh sometimes.

Some of them are too high energy to handle all of the time, even if he himself can be just as high energy. 

Some of them are just judgemental. 

Some of them send jabs at him that he’s not sure how to respond to. 

But the wolf trusts them, so he’ll stay. He’ll try his best. He’ll settle for talking with his hands more often. He’ll settle for half choked replies to things. 

It’s not like he entirely had a choice after all. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Is it obvious how terrified of people, in general, I am? No? Damn.


End file.
